Despite Iran’s refusal to shy away from threatening security in the Strait of Hormuz, Germany continues to refuse its requested-admission into a U.S.-led naval mission that aims to secure international freedom of maritime navigation in the strategic waterway.
During a visit of the Polish-German border city of Slubice, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas reiterated Berlin’s view, according to which Washington’s strategy of maximum pressure on Iran is perceived as “wrong.” Heiko Maas said: “Together with the French and the Britons we discussed at length what such a mission could look like, also as an alternative to the U.S. strategy of maximum pressure on Iran which we believe is wrong. At the moment the Britons would rather join an American mission. We won’t do that.”
With regard to a potential formation of an EU-led mission that will be tasked with a similar monitoring task force, Berlin’s top diplomat asserted that while it remains on the table, it would most likely “take time.” He elaborated saying that: “The topic will surely keep us busy within the European Union. We wanted a European mission and the topic is definitely not off the table but it’s also foreseeable that it will take time to convince the European Union of a mission, whatever it might look like. We have always spoken about a monitoring mission.”